From: MI Sent 13 9:58:25 AM Subject Early Tour 3.15.13 Good Morning ... Europe off 0-60 bps (Italy +0.26%) ... ASX +1.75%, NKY +1.45%, KOSPI - 0.78%, TWSE -0.31%, SHCOMP +0.36%, HSI -0.38% EUR 1.3045 (+0.32%) JPY 96.12 (-0.01%) EUR/JPY 125.39 (+0.32%) AUD 1.0343 (+0.44%) GBP 1.5138 (+0.37%) Spain 10yr 4.87% Italy 10yr 4.64% US 10yr 2.04% Copper +0.08% Silver +0.22% Futures: Dow -2, Nasdaq -1, S&P -1 DXY $82.34 (-30c) Crude $93.25 (+22c) Gold $1591.80 (+$1.10) Asian markets were mostly higher overnight helped by a firm lead from the US. The FTSE rebalance was the focus of the day with Australia and Japan the obvious beneficiaries. Japan closed at the highs after Kuroda and Iwata's appointments were approved by the Upper House. The Nikkei is reporting that Abe may announce plans to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the government would expect this to boost the GDP by #3.2 trillion. Sony (+11%) was upgraded by Daiwa, which helped boost the tech space. China managed to end higher, although off the best levels, with earlier strength being attributed to improving sentiment post the election of Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang - futures expiry also helped. Mainland property names continue to struggle though, after the Housing Minister said that a capital gains tax will be implemented. Korea underperformed and the Kospi gapped lower in the closing auction with heavy foreign selling, particularly in Samsung (-2.6%), following the unveiling of the S4. Next week we get an Indian rate decision on the 19th (most economists forecast 25 bps cut) and HSBC Flash China Manufacturing PMI on the 21st. European markets generally lower in choppy trading thus far with volumes elevated due to quad witch options expiry as well as multiple rebalances on the close today both in the US & Europe including several S&P, FTSE, NYSE-Euroncxt, Deutsche Boerse, and Stoxx indices. The EU Summit continues today and Italy's new Parliament meets for the first time to elec